Amazing Grace
by myfriendsrock73
Summary: What would you do if your parents allowed you to be sold? What if you were sold into the family of a boy who was in love with you? And what if you promised him that you would hate him until the day you died?
1. Chapter 1: In The Beginning

**Amazing Grace  
>By myfriendsrock73 <strong>

**Summary: What would you do if your parents allowed you to be sold? What if you were sold into the family of a boy who was in love with you? And what if you promised him that you would hate him until the day you died?**

**A/N Okay, this is my first fanfic and, since I hate it when people ask you to be easy on them 'cos of that, I'm gonna do the opposite: Be AS HARD ON ME AS POSSIBLE but NO FLAMES! Good to know we have an understanding, eh?**

**Chapter 1: In The Beginning**

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><p><strong>TPOV<strong>

_'Grab someone if you're single  
>Grab someone if you're not<br>'Cos it's all about tonight.' _

As I hovered from couple to couple in the jam-packed room it seemed as if everyone else in the club had listened to Pixie's advice. Everyone but me.  
>Wandering aimlessly around, I realised that I was the only one in the club without a date - it must've been an odd number that night. I didn't wanna be here anyway! Curse Gabi for convincing me into going against my will!<p>

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><p><strong><em>*flashback* <em>**

_"Hey, Taylor?" Gabi had said tentatively as we made our way to the mall, planning to shop until we'd found the perfect dress for Gabi to wear to the dance Troy had invited her to.  
>'Yeah?' I replied without really listening.<br>"Weeeell... I was wondering if you'd come to the party since I really need you there for support and I don't want you stuck home on your own; the rest of the gang (Troy, Sharpay, Zeke, Ryan, Martha, Jason, and Kelsey) are coming and it wouldn't be complete without you." This had all gushed out of Gabi's mouth at an unbelievable pace as she tried on an azure blue number: made of fluffy chiffon and emerging from an impossibly thin corset into a large tutu. _

_"No," I said rather pointedly, "1. We all know you have been waiting for this date with Troy since forever and you're gonna be GREAT! 2. I am perfectly fine on my own, I was planning to catch up with some revision I've left a little late and then make a start on our English project. 3. I'm pretty sure it would be very complete without me, seeing as you're going out with Troy, Sharpay with Zeke, Jason's going with Kelsey and Ryan with Martha. There is no empty space for me to fill, it's perfectly even on its own, without a spare piece attached." I finished, thrusting a slinky ivory maxi at Gabriella.  
>A visibly annoyed expression on Gabriella's face, she swiftly pointed out "a) we all know I'll be a nervous wreck, no matter how long I've been waiting for this date, b) the English project is due in six weeks and we ALSO all know that you never leave any revision late. c) the fact that you GO without a date doesn't mean you'll LEAVE without a date-"<br>I cut her off "Yeah but does it seem possible that-"  
>"- and need I remind you that a negative attitude will not help in the slightest!" she said with an air of finality.<br>Knowing that I would never get anywhere with someone with such a stubborn streak, I reluctantly gave in and went to pick out my own dress, leaving Gabi to pay for the azure creation with a matching butterfly hair clip. _

_***end of flashback***_

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><p>I was snapped out of my reverie to see that the door had crashed open loudly and everyone was staring at it. Turning around to face the door, I saw what all the excitement was about. Chad Danforth, the biggest player and babe magnet in the school, had just emerged from the doorway; clad in faded jeans, a button up shirt and laceless, scuffed hi-tops, his electrified hair making a frizzy halo around his head. Sexy as ever but unfortunately - as well as being a man whore - WAAY out of my league…<p>

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><p><strong>AN: Right peoples, don't hesitate to tell me what you think and we'll see if this story gets finished or not. **


	2. Chapter 2: Too School For Cool

**A/N: Sorry the first chapter was kinda crap but I'm kinda getting used to writing the story so I just need to get into it. I've decided to do alternating POV's but I don't know the extent, right now it's only Chad and Taylor. Sorry this took so long my laptop got confiscated.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned HSM I'd die of happiness, guess it's a good thing I don't. Or is it?**

**Chapter 2: Too School For Cool**

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><p><strong>CPOV<strong>

When I walked into the party, I wasn't surprised to see everybody stop st-staring at me but I wasn't even paying attention to any of them, it's not like I normally gave a shit. Instead my eyes were subconsciously searching for her. I was almost disappointed with myself for acting like such a lovesick puppy. She was just so great! Hehe, the biggest player in school getting nervous about a GIRL, what kind of parallel universe was I _in_?

Naturally I downplayed my affections into oblivion and continued playing the part by flirting with anything that walked - boobs were good too- and messing around with all my basketball bros. My main aim, however, was to talk to Taylor….. Today, I would make my (sort of) move.

I knew where she was and quickly swaggered up to her, only to notice that her eyes were glazed over - remembering something.

"Earth to Taylor,"

I said to her waving my hand infront of her face. And yes, I know, it was cheesy and lame and really old but I just didn't know what to do when I was around her. Like, all of my disgusting 'let's get it on' pick-up lines just wouldn't cut it with her and I knew it.

Whilst I had been thinking she slowly focused in and looked at me in utter confusion, it made sense but still hurt like hell. I just wanted to know her better but from the dawning distaste in her eyes it didn't look like any advancement was on the horizon.

"What do you want Chad?" Is it possible that even they way she said my name was fantastic? How she didn't emphasize the 'd' like everyone else did and let the 'ch' sound whistle through her teeth softly like when people grasswhistle, know what I mean?

"Wanna dance?"

"W-what?"

"Would you like to dance?" She started at me incredulously for a second and I was so sure she'd turn me down and then she went, "Sure," and just like that, I had one foot in the door…

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><p><strong>TPOV<strong>

I was beyond confusion. Like this was a warped, twisted version of a 'wtf' moment (and no I don't mean 'where's the food'), why in the hell was Chad Danforth asking to dance with me? Not that I minded, I mean, he was a freakin' great dancer, he,like, flew across the dancefloor! But, I was still confused: if ever one of _your _wildest and most unachievable dreams came true, would _you _just take it no questions asked? Well, if so, it's a wonder we're not the same person. Anyway though, I had to unearth his undoubtedly ulterior motives.

"W-w-wait a minute there, Romeo," I can _not_ believe I just said that! And to make it worse, he chuckled…. so I smacked him. Actually, that might've come out more flirty than aggressive. Oh crap!

"I wasn't done! Why the fudge would you ever decide to grace _me _with your holy presence?" I asked sarcastically.

He could tell I was being sarcastic but decided not to mention it, instead picking up on my use of language, "Fudge? Really? Do we still replace the vowel sounds in swear words so we don't have to say them?"

Oh my goodness I was actually going to punch him! Why was he such an idiot?!

"Were you dropped on your head at birth? Because otherwise I see no reason as to why you can't keep your retardedness in check. Like seriously N-O-Y-B! Just 'cuz I don't need to wash my mouth out with soap and can actually _refrain _from swearing 24/7, you have to

make fun of me! And then you wonder why I didn't want to dance with you!"

I muttered the last bit and was extracting myself from the dance position while he stared at me in shock. I was just about to make a dramatic exit but, I guess he anticipated that because he grabbed my arm before I could move away.

"Look, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to offend you, " he sounded actually sincere, like my feelings meant something to him or some such crap. Of course my defensive barriers went up at that.

"Oh, right, yeah. Let's stop pretending it makes a difference to you whether I'm hurt or not so we can both move on in life!"

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><p><strong>CPOV<strong>

That really hurt, what she said, I mean, of course I cared about her! But I think I managed to mask my face so that she couldn't tell. Atleast I hope I did. I didn't even know what to say! This little talk had sooo not gone as planned. Then again though, could I really say I was surprised? I knew she was a more interesting person than the others, I shouldn't have expected her to allow me to walk all over her; I shouldn't have expected my social status to aid in any way. She just wasn't like any other girl I'd met before…. And she was walking away from me whilst I mentally wondered at her greatness.

"Hey, Taylor. Wait, stop a minute, I need to talk to you!" She turned around for a second and hope bloomed in my heart until I saw the expression of disgust on her face as she turned back around and continued to walk away.

I'd have to put my pride on the line to fix this….

"I'm sorry for being an idiotic prick!" she whirled around with a smirk on her face.

"The first step to getting help is admitting you have a problem." And suddenly she was back next to me and everything was okay again…. for now.

We danced around for a while before I dared to talk again, I was just savouring her soft body against mine before I had to mess everything up, but I really wanted to get to know her. I mean I knew she was smart, she was _definitely _hot and she had a sarcastic streak too! What more could a guy want if they were looking for that kind of thing, which, I realised, I was. And then Tod had to come and fuck it all up!

"Hey Chad, what's up with you? How are you even touching her without fainting from her boffin-ness?" Tod yelled, drawing everyone's attention to the current 'state of affairs'. Taylor went an immediate red (or as red as she could go) but carried on dancing, ignoring the jibe. I was about to lay into Tod for what he'd just said, but when I realised that Taylor was maturely ignoring the mockery, I figured I should too since he wasn't even insulting me. I was still surprised, though, that she managed to go through all of it with her head held high.

See? Another reason why I loved her! I would've ignored that little hiccup too, if it weren't for the fact that it got everyone else started with the teasing and name calling.

"Geek",

"Nerd",

"Freak",

"Ass-kisser."

I was appalled and kept repeating to myself _it doesn't happen to her everyday, it doesn't happen to her everyday, it doesn't happen to her everyday_ but I knew it did and I couldn't believe I hadn't realised. Whilst claiming that I loved her, I'd failed to notice one of the most important details of her life.

I turned to her and noticed tears brimming in her eyes. I wanted to help her; to tell her that it would be alright, but it was my fault (or Tod's) that this was happening to her in the first place and I couldn't make a promise that I couldn't keep.

Horrified, I watched- as if in slow motion- as she ran out the door, to everyone's large cheers and guffaws. However I noticed a small group in the corner, looking about as horrified as I was pretty sure I did, and staring after her. I knew two of them - Troy and Zeke - they were two of the nicer guys on the team; Troy was going out with a girl from the scholastic decathlon team, Gabriella? She was there with two other girls, Martha and Kelsey, but I knew almost nothing about them. Then there was Sharpay and Ryan, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who didn't know _them_.

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><p><strong>AN:** **Right so tell me if you think it's too long and drawn out or if there's too much affection too early or if you just generally think it's crap, I'm open to opinions. I'll see when I can get out the next chapter but imma have to figure out what's gonna happen and then write it before I post it. If you hadn't figured, I'm sort of making this up as I go along.**

**Also, try and find the 3 song references I accidentally did. One is LMFAO and one is Of Monsters and Men. **

**See ya dudes,**

**-myfriendsrock73**


	3. Chapter 3: Back To Black

**A/N: And oh look, she's back! Just so you know, I am aware that if anyone is reading this they will think I am a horrible person for not uploading and I want you to know that it's true. I'm a horrible person, I'm not gonna lie. But I do have swag so I guess that makes up for it. **

**Disclaimer: It's not mine, okay? *cries to self***

**Chapter 3: Back To Black **

**TPOV**

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><p>Have you ever regretted something? Really? You have? That's great you know. I haven't. I don't allow myself to. I spend so much of my life analysing every possible outcome, planning everything and considering the consequences of each action that I don't have the opportunity to regret.<p>

Until today.

I regret lots of things from last night, and since I like lists, I'll make you one.

Going shopping with Gabi - to be fairly honest I don't regret this but I do regret the repercussions!

Letting Gabi wear me down so easily - I knew she wouldn't hang out with me once we got to the party and I couldn't blame her, Troy was cute! But I _was_ mad that she made me come knowing I would have nothing to do. And when I was being ridiculed it's not like anyone of my so called 'friends' were there to help me.

Staring at Chad longer than the time I had allotted myself - 2.5 seconds if you must know

Dancing with Chad - it felt insanely good and he was a great dancer but again, the repercussions

Having fun with Chad - Had someone spiked my Diet Coke? Because otherwise I don't understand how I expected that to lead to anything.

And finally, the trigger, giving Chad the tiniest hole that he could wriggle his slimy head into to jeopardise my life. I mean, he didn't stick up for me either, not that I'm surprised.

I bet it was all planned out in the beginning. Give the geek a false sense of security so you can go and dump her in the shite and laugh about it when she leaves crying, fun times. Honestly, I'm surprised they had enough brain power between them to devise a plan as decent as that.

At this I had a brainwave. I was going to have to see these people again at some point. I was also going to have to turn on my phone at some point. Then again, I was also going to have to die at some point. I think it's safe to say that I want all of these things to take their sweet time coming.

And just as I thought these things, my favourite voice in the whole universe cropped up outside my door, accompanied with a knock that was so timid it was concerning.

"Taylor?"

Maybe if I don't answer he'll go away?

"Taylor? Are you in there?"

No, obviously he didn't get the 'Take a Hint' lessons.  
>"Taylor don't tell me you've climbed out of the window and eloped with your pillow?"<p>

What an immature boy… Really it almost hurts.

"Awww c'mon that was meant to be funny, give a guy a break."

"Oh my gosh actually shut up Chad, and whilst you're at it, LEAVE!"

"Aaaah… so you _aren't _eloping and you _intentionally _ignored my texts."

"I don't know what texts you're talking about."

"How about the _ones from last night. _The ones that asked if you got home safe this morning? If you had fun? If you were SORE, nudge nudge wink wi-"

Chad was shouting at this point and since my parents hadn't been home last night they wouldn't know when I'd gotten back. I could only imagine the ideas that were formulating in their heads after Chad's little 'joke'. So I opened my door, grabbed his ear and pulled him in with an iron grip, effectively cutting off his incriminating lies in a maneuver that took 5 seconds.

I'll leave you ten seconds to just silently check my swag…

"What was that for?" shouted Chad when the door was closed.

"OK, I get that you want to ruin my life and leave it in irreparable tatters but come on! Was my social life not enough of a victory? Do you HAVE to get me locked in a tower until I'm forty so I can't even leave at graduation? "

As I spoke Chad's face, which had been held in a barely contained grin, dropped further and further down and I almost felt guilty for the hurt look in his eyes until I realised that it was probably just disappointment at the fact that I'd ruined his pathetic scheme.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about! I know you were behind the epic fail also known as last night. No thanks Danforth. You're very good at a game that I don't want to play. So you're done here. *** Get. Out."

Speechless, he walked backwards out of the door and almost ran down the stairs before stumbling out the front yard, getting in his car and flooring the gas. He was gone again and I should've been happy. Why then did remorse tug at the frayed edges where my heart used to be whole? And look, wasn't that cliche?

**CPOV**

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><p>I'd never seen her so mad before! It was like she was back to how she used to be until Year 9. When the spark was still there and fire smouldered in her eyes and she was a formidable beast, in a nice way of course. It brought back so many memories…<p>

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><p><strong>*flashback*<strong>

"Yo Chad, have you seen Taylor?"

"Nah dude, why would I have seen your girl? She's probably with Gabz and all those other chicks as usual." By the time I'd finished saying 'dude' he was gone. As long as I hadn't seen Taylor, he had nothing to say to me…

Ten minutes later, he came back screaming unintelligible gibberish about 'ungrateful bitches'. He was in one of his Henry II rages and I wasn't going to get anything out of him so I went to find Taylor who was sitting with her knees up in one corner of our form room with metaphorical (and probably literal too) steam spewing from her ears. I sat down next to her without saying anything and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And _waited…. _until after 5 seconds she just exploded.

"He's such a pretentious douche nozzle and he thinks because we're going out he can make me into the female equivalent! Why should I pretend to be stupid just so I can be his damn trophy girlfriend and sit with the other stupid trophy girlfriends and talk about all the other crap that stupid trophy girlfriends talk about which I don't give a damn about whilst sipping champagne because we're trophy girlfriends! And then he has the _goddamn nerve _to call me ungrateful because I don't want to go to Bristol instead of Oxford, saying I don't _appreciate _him as a boyfriend! Huh!"

She'd started off hissing maliciously, then she was complaining murderously and it rose to a crescendo at the end, window breaking shouts and potentially dangerous hand gestures - the works…. and then she'd dramatically stormed out of the room leaving the birth of seven thousand stupid rumours and seven hundred thousand slightly less stupid ones.

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><p><strong>*end of flashback* <strong>

That was one of the last times I remember seeing the flames in her eyes. Soon after that Todd and her had broken up and her social status had left with him. He's started endless rumours and ridiculed her in ways considered impossible until he did them. At the start she fought it. She would kick and scream and wouldn't allow herself to be beat down. She never started relying on her friends more and needing them to boost her spirits, she got her work to do that instead. By the end of Year 9 her levels were higher than even she could believe and her friendship status had been been reduced to a select few of the brave people who could handle her - Gabriella, Zeke, Martha, Kelsey, Ryan. At that point Sharpay was still a bitch - hell she even joined in with the teasing - and Troy hadn't come in yet.

Maybe nobody else could see it but it became clearer to me everyday. She was shrinking into herself. Her posture would get more slumped, her response to any kind of contact from anyone excluding her group of friends was either monosyllabic or awkward and cold, her clothes became more boring and conservative: non complementing woolen jumpers that hung off her figure, baggy jeans that hid her legs, hair either all in her face or scraped back into a punishing bun and only ever dressed in black or extensive shades of grey. And then at the end her eyes died and I knew that she was gone. The fire that had always smouldered there? It had been put out and the soulful brown eyes turned uncaring and almost glassy.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that her friends got to see her animated side away from school and I was jealous and hurt that I hadn't made it into the elite group, but I knew in the same breath that it was my fault. Out of solidarity to Todd and to protect my social status I had abandoned her, left her to the crows. And I spent every day pretending like I didn't regret it.

But I made a decision right then to myself. I would get the fire back and I didn't care in what form. Even if I had to annoy it out of her, that's what I'd do.

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><p><strong>TPOV<strong>

"Taylor? Could you please come down here? Now?" And here was I, feeling all bad until I realised I was about to have to do some serious damage control about the stupid crap Chad said.

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><p><strong>***I totally just ripped off HSM 2 in the worst possible way. All rights to that line go to Dan Schneider or the writers of HSM 2 or whoever. Could even have ACTUALLY been Vanessa Hudgens.<strong>

**A/N I quite liked this one, I'm almost proud of it. It has more info about the past but I thought the beginning was quite funny. I'm also probably done with A/N's cuz no one reads them anyway so….**

**-myfriendsrock73**


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